Doll Artist and Teacher

Would like to introduce my doll teacher to you, Betty Nelson. (Also known as Mama Betty)……. Not only is she a doll teacher but a doll artist. Her bebe’s have won many awards and have been featured in doll magazines and newspapers. (See excerpt below on how it all began) She makes from start to finish Antique Reproduction Dolls…..and they are beautiful! ……… I’m so blessed to have Mama Betty in my life. She is such a joy to be around and is very, very patience with ME! 🙂 Good thing…….I have alot to learn…… 🙂

Hooked On Dolls….How it all began..

Restored German Doll from 1900’s

As Betty recalls her youth, she states that playing with dolls-dressing them, sewing for them- were the happiest time of her life…..But as time passed and adulthood took over she married and had babies. “I have wonderful memories of my babies….they truly brought joy into my life.”

Her love for dolls was reawakened when her husband’s mother gave her an old German doll made by Simon Halbig in the early 1900’s. Old , overlooked and neglected, the doll was in need of immediate attention. And she set out to restore it.

The doll pictured above is that very doll that needed restoration….that was in Jan. 1978….the year that Betty’s life changed….. 🙂

She visited a lady know as the “The Doll Lady” who introduced doll making to many women, for advice on her restoration project. “That did it”, Betty said…..

“I WAS HOOKED”….

It has been a daily learning experience since to make the dolls and design their clothing. From the day the porcelain is poured in the mold and fired, to the day she puts in the last stitch on it’s clothing, Betty does it all….

She knits the socks, makes the shoes, washes, dyes and prepare the wool for the wigs. Most of the doll’s costume is hand sewn and hand decorated…..

She designs the dresses to resemble the old dresses worn by dolls know as antiques, that are so costly to buy……

The joy of making beautiful dolls is further enchanced when it is put in a doll show and it is judged on a scale to 100 points and you return to find your doll has received a blue ribbon, or a rosette for being the best in it’s class and perhaps find it won “Best of Show”, a thrill that occurred that very year for Betty!…..

Time and patience are vital ingredients in making a beautiful doll. Her major claim fame is that she is making heirloom dolls that will one day be passed on to her grandchildren…..